The document provides tips for supporting dyslexic students in the classroom. It recommends assessing the accessibility of textbooks, providing easier texts if needed, and supporting student access to texts. It also suggests highlighting and explaining new words, writing clearly on the board, including multisensory learning, teaching visual representation methods, considering worksheet design, allowing extra time for tasks, and praising student effort.

1. Supporting dyslexic pupils in the classroom
Hear the student read (discreetly if necessary) to gauge accessibility of
the textbook you are using, and find out what he/she finds
helpful/unhelpful in lessons.
Provide easier texts if necessary – short sentences, plenty of pictures,
difficult words explained.
Support pupils in accessing text (eg, read text aloud in class, pair the
student with a more able peer or put texts on CD).
Highlight and explain new/subject-specific words: display them in the
classroom (lower-case print) and draw attention to them.
Write on the board in a large, clear style: use different colours (but
minimise the necessity for pupils to copy from the board).
Include multisensory learning opportunities in every lesson.
Teach mind mapping and other forms of visual representation. Encourage
the use of a range of recording methods, eg bullet points, story board,
flow chart, scribed and oral/recorded.
Give careful consideration to the design and layout of
activity/information sheets – size of font, colour of paper, spacing etc.
Consider the use of coloured overlays.
Provide a selection of dictionaries, including an ACE one (aurally coded
English).
Use collaborative learning and peer support.
Employ ICT to support pupils’ learning: adjust computer screens and text
size where appropriate; consider voice recognition software; predictive
text; different kinds of spellcheckers.
Allow extra time for completion of written tasks – or adjust your
expectations (dyslexic pupils can write less, or use a different format).
Avoid dictating homework in the last few minutes of the lesson.
Mark written work for the content rather than spelling and presentation;
highlight two or three words to be learned each time, rather than
correcting all mistakes.
Help pupils to be organised – remind them of what is needed for
following lesson etc.
Praise for effort as well as achievement – remember that dyslexic pupils
may have to work twice as hard to produce half as much as their peers.
Swanmore College of Technology